Sunday, the third and final day of C2E2, is family day, so kids under 13 get in free. This is a great opportunity for geeky parents, such as yours truly, to bring their kids along for some family fun.
The final day of any con is a great time to beat the crowds, have a better shot at meeting your favorite celebrities or artists, and exploit vendors who don't want to haul all that inventory back home by getting deep discounts on merch.
Since it's family day, there's lots of great opportunities for kids to have geeky fun. I brought my daughters to "Talk Like a Pirate & Leave With Treasure," an event hosted by four lovely ladies from The Bristol Renaissance Faire. All the kids that attended got an eye patch, a lesson in what the four sides of a pirate ship are called, and best of all, a handful of buried treasure. Here are some pictures of the event...
As evening falls on The Windy City, C2E2 is winding down. Many parents are dragging their children, kicking & screaming, from the convention, and lord knows, if it were socially acceptable, a lot of these geeks would be throwing tantrums right alongside them.
On Day 1, I posted a picture of one of Effie Trinket and a Capitol Guard's costume from The Hunger Games, and over the weekend, they put up more costumes, including three of Katniss' looks from the film.
I am no expert on cosplay (if my coverage thus far hasn't made that thoroughly obvious, I don't know how else to explain it) but I do know what I like. I've seen a ton of really nice costumes here this weekend, but the ones that I've gravitated towards are the ones that have a homemade aesthetic to them. Anyone can go out and buy a costume, but it's obvious that the people who have invested the time in creating their own costumes have been my favorites by a mile. Here are my favorites that I've seen this weekend...
There were a lot of really nice Iron Man suits throughout the con, but the one that really grabbed my attention was this battle damaged Mark VI from Iron Man 2. I saw this guy again on Saturday in a different costume, but it was his almost wholly homemade Iron Man suit that really stood out to me.
These DC Manadalorians were awesome. Nothing says geek more than taking Boba Fett & re-imagining him as Green Lantern, Wonder Woman or Batman. I absolutely loved these costumes and give this trio a ton of credit for their creativity.
This No Face caught my attention on my way out the door on Saturday and I had to snap a picture. It's simple and well-done & since Spirited Away is one of my favorite films, I just had to get a picture. Too bad Arn Anderson there decided it would be a good idea to photo bomb me, but I guess I deserve it since I photo bombed a ton of people this weekend.
Clem & Nora love Adventure Time, but they didn't want to take pictures with any of the myriad Finns & Fionnas we saw. However, when they got a load of The Ice King & Marceline here, they just had to get their picture taken with them.
My personal favorite cosplayer I saw all weekend was this Ralph McQuarrie-style Concept Darth Vader. While it has elements that look store bought, it's definitely a homemade piece at heart. As iconic as the image of Darth Vader has become, when you see his original concept, complete with blaster rifle, he's somehow even more menacing.
All in all, C2E2 was a fantastic experience. There truly is something for everyone: film fans, sci-fi/horror fans, comic fans, anime fans, kids, adults, singles, couples, parents. It's a wonderful melting pot & lets us geeks feel comfortable letting the geek flag fly for a few days. While I probably participated in about one-fiftieth of the various activities, it was a great time nonetheless, and if you're in Chicago on the last weekend in April, I cannot recommend it any higher.
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